


From the Blue Flames

by animatedrose



Category: The Dark Crystal (1982), The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (TV)
Genre: Blindness, Disobedience, Egg Hatching, F/F, F/M, Gelfling raising baby skeksis and urru, Gen, Implied Kidnapping, M/M, Mal breaks the ceiling, Mischief, Multi, Other, Sifa clan mentions, Stonewood clan mentions, Thra now has tree-hanging pumpkins, baths, beach, blame The Resistance discord for this, cliffs, cute baby things, forest, gelfling riots, lots of OCs in this, lots of dumb bird things, maybe the canon mystics too, momma skekSa be in the house, never go into the woods alone, our babies are becoming colorful, sandcrabs, seaside cliff cottage, ship in the distance, skekLar is a brat, skekMal be stalking, skekling army plus a few urlings basically, skeklings, the canon skeks will appear eventually, the house got an upgrade, the pumpkins are now called treekin, too many cute skekling and urling arts, urlings, what is skekTek up to, will comb this over for more errors come morning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2020-12-09 16:29:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20997863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/animatedrose/pseuds/animatedrose
Summary: Miko of the Stonewood clan cannot recall how she ended up in this isolated hut on the edge of a forested cliff by the Silver Sea. Escape is impossible. Dark beasts lurk in the forest to impede her path and a strange ship sails the sea along the horizon. Nobody is coming.Until a mysterious egg is left by one of the beasts. It hatches into two of the strangest things that Miko has ever seen--a baby version of the Lords of the Crystal, a Skeksis, and a miniature version of a creature she thought was only legend, a Mystic. She finds herself in over her head with the antics of this skekling and urling...until more eggs begin appearing.Where are they coming from? And why to her, of all Gelfling?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Jumping on the baby skek train! Thanks to The Resistance Discord for spawning too many fluffy baby skeks and urrus for my poor heart to handle. I blame you all for this, with love.

Miko didn’t recall living atop a cliff with a picturesque view of the Silver Sea. She didn’t recognize the modest wooden hut, though everything inside of it belonged to her. Her herbs, her books, her clothes, all of it full of memories. But the hut and the cliff and everything around were unfamiliar.

This was not her home.

She should be in Stone-in-the-Wood in the hut that she and her maudra aunt made together. Surrounded by friends and neighbors. Familiar. Safe.

The Stonewood Gelfling girl didn’t recognize the forested cliff that she was on. When she peeked over the stony edge, she could see jutting stones with smoothed tops, like platforms carved into the earth. A small patch of beach lay far below, surrounded by the waves of the sea. The thick trees encircling the clear cliff edge that she was on seemed to extend into infinity, though Miko knew this to be impossible. When she set bare foot into the trees, a sense of dread and terror filled her.

This place was not familiar or safe. She did not know where she was or how she got there.

Miko fled into the hut. It was almost a replica of the one she had helped build back home, but she could already see differences. The doors were too big. The ceilings were way too high. Her bed was much bigger and could easily fit ten of her. She didn’t understand these drastic changes.

She brushed her long black braid over her shoulder, the hair reaching her knees. Her blue eyes were hidden behind large, round-framed glasses. Freckles dusted her fair-skinned face. Her wings, a mix of soft blues and deep blacks with hints of green, fluttered lightly behind her as she walked around the hut.

It seemed like home, yet it didn’t. The feeling of her aunt was not there. Something far greater had built this, intending to appeal to her. Why?

Then the ground shook.

Miko clung to a table, looking out the window. She nearly screamed. Some immense black monster emerged from the trees, scuttling on dozens of tiny legs. Two huge claw-like hands supported a large wicker net along its back. Violet eyes seemed to burn into her soul.

The monster stopped short of the hut. It seemed to bend over double, impossibly so considering its armored bulk. Then it turned, disappearing back into the forest as fast as it had arrived. Miko’s heart refused to leave her throat until the ground ceased to shake.

Then she saw the bundle on the ground. A soft blue and white cloth, a checker pattern, covering a basket. How the monster handled such a small load frightened Miko. There wasn’t even a scratch on it.

Miko hesitated before finally moving. Stepping from the hut, she lightly approached the basket, wings flared to carry her back if the monster returned. The forest stayed dark and empty. She seized the basket, gasping at how heavy it was. She spun on her heel, darting back through the doorway and slamming the door behind her.

She set the basket on the table, wary. Maybe it was food. Maybe it was a trap. She really should’ve opened it outside but too late now. She extended a hand, fingers twitching. Then she grabbed the blanket and pulled it away, bracing herself.

She wasn’t sure exactly what she expected to find in the basket, but it certainly wasn’t a large egg. It seemed to be split down the middle in terms of color. Half gold, half purple.

Miko reached out to touch it. She shivered. It felt almost otherworldly, cool but leathery. She took it in her hands, lifting it. It was rather heavy. It made her wonder what kind of creature had laid such an egg.

And why did the monster leave it here for her? Was it some kind of peace offering?

She put the egg back in the basket, taking a seat. Was she supposed to eat it? What if there was a baby inside? She was conflicted.

The egg suddenly shook. Miko yelped, falling from her chair. When she rose, the egg tipped onto its side. A small hole was in its side, oozing amniotic fluid. Miko watched as something pecked at the hole, spilling more clear fluid. It looked like some kind of beak. Maybe a bird?

Then the egg was ripped open from within and Miko’s jaw dropped.

From the egg, soaked in fluid, came not just one…but two beings. One vaguely bird-like, the other more like a fizzgig. They flopped onto the blanket, clinging to each other, wheezy breaths escaping them as they coughed the goop from their newborn lungs.

Miko’s brain finally clicked. She recognized these shapes, kind of. The bird almost looked like a tiny, very fluffy, Skeksis. A Lord of the Crystal. The other resembled a fluffy version of the Mystics she’d hear about in her aunt’s bedtime stories. She tried to convince herself that this was wrong but…she couldn’t find the arguments.

The babies made soft sounds, the bird peeping while the other squeaked. It was rather adorable. As they dried, their fluff rose to cover them in downy softness.

Miko fetched a cloth, wetting it in warm water from a sealed jug under the table. She carefully lifted the fizzgig-like one, wiping goo from them. They simply lay there in her arms, not minding the attention. Then she switched to the bird-like one. That one was squirmy, chirping and swinging their tiny beak in protest.

Mystic, urRu, Skeksis, Lord of the Crystal, what was she to call them? Non-Gelfling childlings? Maybe…urling and skekling? Until she knew better, perhaps.

Miko gathered them both to her. They seemed content to be close together. As she walked to her bed, she eyed the broken egg on her table. Was there supposed to be two in there? It didn’t make any sense.

She set them on her bed, watching the skekling squirm and catch their claws on a blanket. The urling rolled, almost crawling on top of their…twin? Yes, they must be twins. The skekling gave a soft chirp before calming. Soon the pair fell asleep.

Miko sat back in her chair. “What a strange day.”

.o.o.o.o.

For the first few days, the two newborns were rather quiet. They ate when she fed them, a thick broth mixed with Nebrie milk for nutrition. They slept most of the time, curled together. She noticed that they hated being separated, even a little.

Miko took the free time during their frequent naps to explore. She forced herself to be brave and enter the forest again. She found some useful herbs within, along with a fruit tree. She jumped at the shadows, expecting the monster to return.

It never did, but she had a horrid sense of dread. She felt like someone was watching her.

So she turned her attention to the sea instead. She used her wings to carry her down to the stone platforms. They were immense. She wondered what had made them. Their surface was too smooth for it to be Thra itself. Was it the same force that brought her here?

The beach below was small, the sand chilled slightly by the sea breeze. Miko had never seen the ocean before. She dug her toes into the sand as she walked. The water was clear, a beautiful blue, like rippling glass. She saw a few colorful fish. Maybe she could fish here for food?

The hut was fully stocked. Food, water, her herbs. All of it lifted from her home in Stone-in-the-Wood. Did her aunt notice her missing? Did anyone? Or was this some strange dream?

She tried to remember the last time she was home. Her memory was fuzzy. She didn’t understand why.

She stopped at the edge of the beach, watching the suns set. She squinted. Was that a ship in the distance? Maybe she could hail some Sifa.

By the time the Brother Suns had vanished beneath the sea, Miko reluctantly concluded that if there was a ship, it wasn’t getting any nearer. Not anytime soon. She turned and flew back up the cliff to the hut she now begrudgingly called home.

She wondered if she’d ever see her real home again.

.o.o.o.o.

Miko had wanted children once. She saw in her future a happy mate and several childlings. That was what she had wanted most.

Instead she got…these two.

“Lar! What did you do?” she demanded.

It had been almost two weeks since she had been saddled with the skekling and urling. In that time, she had basically decided that the skekling must be Skeksis. It was tiresome to just call them “skekling” and “urling”, so she gave them names.

The skekling was skekLar. The urling was urMy.

skekLar, shortened to Lar usually, stood in the grass outside of the hut. He had begun to race around a lot about a week after hatching. He was still small enough for Miko to carry in one arm, but he made enough mischief to make up for his diminutive size. Right now, skekLar was currently coated heavily in mud.

urMy watched from the sidelines, mud streaked across his fluffy fur and his cream-colored face. Unlike his skekling twin, the urling rarely got into trouble. He was more content to lounge around and watch skekLar cause chaos.

Miko groaned. “Well, I guess you’ll need to bathe.”

skekLar gave a shrill squawk as he was picked up. urMy didn’t protest, effectively a limp sack of tubers as he was lifted from the ground. The Stonewood Gelfling carried them both into the hut and toward the washroom. Neither had ever entered that room before, looking around at their new surroundings as she set them both in the stone tub.

She filled it with warm water, mixing in hot and cold until it was a comfy temperature. urMy lay there, beginning to float as the water rose. skekLar, on the other hand, began to shriek louder.

Then the soap was added and chaos erupted.

Miko swiped bubbles from her brow, grateful that the splash had missed her glasses. “Down, Lar. Back in the tub. You’re not clean yet.”

_“Scraaaaaw!”_ The tiny ball of birdy fluff wailed, toothy beak wide open, tail lashing as four tiny hands scrambled fruitlessly against wet stone.

Miko sighed, carefully seizing the skekling under both sets of arms and sinking him to his neck in the warm water. This brought another round of screechy wails from him. Nearby, urMy floated listlessly, not at all bothered by the soapy, screaming chaos taking place less than two feet away from him.

“You are getting clean, Lar!” Miko insisted, scrubbing the filth from the skekling’s fluffy down.

_“Scrawk! Scraaaaw!”_ skekLar shrieked, flailing with every limb he had.

Miko was glad that he was so tiny. If he was going to get as big as the Lords of the Crystal, she didn’t want to imagine how bathing would go over then. Especially if he continued to hate it like he currently did.

“Why can’t he be as relaxed as you?” she grumbled, looking at the urling.

urMy watched her, silent as usual. A few bubbled popped from near his snout.

Miko groaned, going back to washing the terror that was his twin.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been almost an unum since skekLar and urMy had appeared. Since Miko woke to find herself in this strange seaside hut. All that time and she had yet to find any answers regarding her situation.

The skekling and urling were bigger now. Not by much, but enough. skekLar was more mischievous and Miko was getting a horrible feeling that urMy wasn’t as innocent as he seemed. Though the urling wasn’t the one up on counters and stealing treats, she found him seated close enough that skekLar could easily use him to reach those places and things. Whether this was intentional or not, she didn’t know.

She couldn’t really interrogate them. Neither of the babies could speak.

Miko sighed, hands on her hips. urMy watched her from the ground, tail curled against him. skekLar froze on the counter, a few sweet buns shoved into his maw. His golden eyes watched her, wide with fright. Yet the spark of challenge was still there, daring her to try taking the snacks.

skekLar had been getting naughtier, putting his teeth to use. Miko didn’t like it.

“What did I say about getting up on the counter?” she asked sternly.

skekLar kept staring. Then he swallowed, trying to hide the evidence by eating the buns in his beak and claws. Miko yelped when the skekling heaved, half-choking. A quick smack to his back brought up the blockage, slimy bread chunks decorating the wood of the counter.

“See? You’ll choke if you keep that up!” Miko scolded.

_“Screek!”_ skekLar chirped, tail lashing in defiance.

“One day you’ll eat so many snacks, you’ll pop,” she warned, picking him up.

skekLar thrashed, squawking as he was put on the floor. urMy shook his head, making a soft sighing sound. The skekling hissed more, fluff rising to make himself bigger. Miko raised a brow, unamused.

“You’re not the only mouth to feed here,” she said. “You have to learn to share, Lar.”

_“Scrawk!”_

Miko opened her mouth to respond, only to jolt. The ground began to shake. skekLar’s argument died, terror overcoming anger. He lunged, leaping upon her leg and clinging with a piercing screech. urMy quickly copied, loud cries escaping the frightened urling. Miko bent to rest a hand over both of their backs.

The monster had returned.

Miko bristled. She had little ones, her childlings, to guard now. If this monster was here to cause mischief, then it would regret it.

She peeled skekLar and urMy from her legs, tossing them both on the bed. The little ones wailed, clinging to each other. skekLar looked like he was crying but Miko couldn’t confirm. She was at the door, a crude spear in her hands. She had made it during her first few days, whittling away at a branch until the point was sharp. She didn’t know if she could hurt the creature…but she wasn’t going to roll over and let it attack her!

She flung the door open, darting out. The monster rose, violet eyes on her. Miko flew to a stop, intimidated. The monster was huge, crab-like and many times her size. It towered over her easily. She couldn’t immediately see any soft, fleshy weak points. Was this thing even a living creature?

Her eyes shot to the ground when a loud wail sounded. For a moment, terror seized her. How had skekLar gotten out?

It was the eyes that told her it was not her skekling. Where skekLar’s were a sharp gold, this tiny skekling’s eyes were a bluish-white. Its urling twin was identical. They clung to each other as the monster began to scuttle backward.

“Why?” she asked. She charged it. “Why? Where am I? why am I here?”

The beast spun, racing away. She kept chasing, her wings flaring to carry her into the treetops. She jumped from branch to branch, blood roaring in her ears. The monster was fast, faster than her. It vanished into the thick trees despite her desperate pursuit.

_“ScreeeEEEEeeeeeeeEEEeeeeeeeeeeEEEeeeeeeeeEEEEeee!!”_

Miko stopped, spear lowering. No amount of scanning yielded the monster. It was gone. Disappointment clawed at her.

“Next time,” she told herself, going back to the clearing despite a heavy heart. “Next time, you’ll get answers.”

Another thought hit. Both times, it had arrived with skekling and urling twins. Would it bring more next time? Why?

She landed in the clearing, ears twitching as the ear-piercing shrieks hit. The skekling had their head thrown back, beak wide as they cried. The urling hugged them, shoulders quaking with soft sobs. Miko approached the pair, kneeling near them.

Her fears were confirmed. She reached out a hand, touching the tiny beak. The skekling froze, their cry dying in their throat. Milky eyes staring at her, wide in fright.

“You’re blind,” she muttered, thumb stroking the down on the skekling’s cheek.

.o.o.o.o.

Miko sighed. Ever since she’d brought the blind skekling and his blind urling twin—skekRen and urRan were what she named them—into the hut, skekLar became insanely jealous. He’d puff and hiss at the other skekling, the noises making the other cry. urMy didn’t seem to overly care much about his twin’s temper tantrums.

What did skekLar expect her to do? Leave the poor blind skekling to care for himself outside?

This carried on until dinner that evening. Miko left for a bit to go chop wood outside for the fire. A cold wind came from the cliff and her tiny wards were vulnerable to the cold despite their fluffy down. Once Miko was gone, skekLar made his move.

How dare this blind, crying thing steal Mother from him? He was here first!

skekLar hissed, creeping across the woven grass mats toward where his new “baby brother”, as Mother called him, sat. skekRen was creepy, all foggy-eyed and still. skekLar didn’t like it. It was like he was dead, but he breathed.

skekLar reared back on his feet and chirped in the most threatening manner he could. The blind skekling jolted, falling backward onto the mat. skekRen flailed before a loud wail erupted from his beak. skekLar watched, waiting for Mother to rush in to soothe the annoying thing.

…Mother didn’t come.

skekLar waited. And waited. And the crying got worse and worse. Even the two urling looked uncomfortable now, urMy swinging his rounded snout toward the door. Mother always came when they cried. Where was she?

.o.o.o.o.

Miko stared at the sea. The Brother Suns were sinking fast, casting long shadows across the grass. Against the intensity of the Great Sun, she could see the silhouette of the ship.

She still had no idea who sailed it or why. It was always there, drifting so far into the distance. Like it was watching. But how could it see from so far away?

Something told her it wasn’t Sifan. That made her nervous. Who else would sail a ship but the seafaring Sifa clan?

Miko turned back to the small tree she had chopped down. Her hands stung from the chopping, skin reddened from her grip. She was unused to such things still, but this was her life now. They needed wood for fire to keep warm at night. There was no other choice.

She kept chopping, deaf to the cries in her hut.

.o.o.o.o.

After a bit of claw wringing, skekLar inched forward. Then he took a bold step, trying to put all of his few pounds of weight into it. Maybe the noise would make skekRen shut up.

The blind skekling continued to cry, fat tears rolling down his face. skekLar felt a surge of something in him that he couldn’t identify but it made him feel…bad. Like when Mother caught him snacking between meals when he wasn’t supposed to. Like this morning.

skekLar frowned, then stepped closer until he was beside the other skekling.

skekLar made soft chirping noises. The crying didn’t lessen. He frowned, trying to puzzle it out. What would Mother do when she tried to get him to quit crying? Usually food or hugs. But the other skekling was wet with tears! skekLar didn’t want to touch him!

…Fine. Food, it was.

.o.o.o.o.

When Miko came back into the hut, arms full of chopped wood, she froze at the scene before her. Just based on that afternoon after skekRen was left with them, she had assumed skekLar would be making them cry again. Instead they were…eating something messy on the floor.

skekLar hiccupped, coughing up a wet crumb of something.

Was that…bread? Like what they had for lunch earlier? Did skekLar just…?

Miko suddenly realized what skekLar had done. She withdrew, pretty sure she was going to be sick. She dumped the wood into its pile before heading out the door to find somewhere to settle her flipping stomach.

.o.o.o.o.

skekLar was rather proud of himself, watching his “baby brother” munch on the half-digested remains of his lunch. Maybe having a sibling wouldn’t be too bad. urMy seemed to like it, palling around with urRan most of the day.

Just as long as skekRen stopped crying so much. It was so annoying!

.o.o.o.o.

Miko was rather grateful for her enlarged bed suddenly. If these four got as big as the Lords of the Crystal were, she was going to need it if they insisted on sleeping with her.

She settled among the piles of blankets and pillows. She had arranged herself a nest of sorts. The extra pillows formed a ring around them, creating a kind of soft barrier. Throwing the blankets over herself, she opened her arms to her childlings to join her.

skekLar scrambled over, snuggling against her stomach. urMy took his time, carefully guiding urRan and skekRen to the pair. Miko gathered the jittery blind twins to her, singing a soft Stonewood lullaby. urRan relaxed near immediately, falling asleep with heavy snores.

skekRen twitched, staying awake. He was always twitching. Miko worried that he might have other physical conditions beyond being blind. Were they born this way? Or did something happen shortly after birth to do this?

skekLar gave a soft chirp, leaping on skekRen. Miko rose to scold him. The bed was for sleeping, not playing. Yet she barely opened her mouth before she shut it again. skekLar had stretching himself out over skekRen, like a fluffy skekling blanket. skekRen ceased twitching.

Miko relaxed, lying back down. She carefully slid the pair toward her, and then she curled along on her side. The two urlings huddled close, softly sleeping. skekLar made small squeaking sounds as he dozed off.

She stroked skekRen’s head until she fell asleep. She didn’t know if the blind skekling slept that night, but she hoped he did.


	3. Chapter 3

“skekRen! Where are you?” Miko called.

urRan and urMy were sunning themselves on the grass, content to do nothing. Miko was glad for that, but her anxiety still spilled out of control. Their skekling twins were missing. She wasn’t as worried for skekLar. The mischievous skekling was always vanishing.

It was skekRen that worried her. He was blind. If he got lost, he couldn’t possibly find his way home.

“skekRen!” she called again, hands cupped around her mouth as she walked wide circles around the clearing that their hut resided in.

There wasn’t a sound to be heard.

.o.o.o.o.

skekRen sat there at the base of the big tree. skekLar told him it was a tree. It felt all bumpy and rough, but skekRen had never encountered a tree before today. He couldn’t help but keep touching it, talons catching on the bumpy surface. Bits of it kept falling off.

High above him, he could hear his older brother climbing. He had climbed up the tree for…something. skekRen didn’t get what, but it was something skekLar wanted.

skekRen was unused to being outside without his twin or their Mother. He could faintly hear Mother calling but skekLar had told him, in their peeping baby language, to stay quiet. So skekRen stayed quiet, sitting at the base of the tree.

Up in the tree, skekLar clawed his way from branch to branch. He hissed when his fluffy down caught on some of the gnarled wood, tugging painfully. He bit his tongue, refusing to cry. He wouldn’t cry, not like skekRen. Not anymore. skekLar was better than that.

He had his eyes set on the big orange things growing at the tips of the branches. They were really high up in the tree, but skekLar wanted them the instant he saw them. He didn’t even know what they were, but their bright orange skins stood out among all the green and brown and gray and black of the forest.

He’d seen Mother go up into the trees and bring back juicy pink fruits. Maybe this orange thing was like that, only much bigger.

Mother had told them not to go into the forest. skekLar didn’t understand that. The forest is where his baby brothers had come from. The big beast lived here somewhere. skekLar had yet to see it, but he knew it was there. He could hear something huge lurking, branches snapping, claws rending wood, heavy steps in the underbrush.

skekLar had heard it settle a few trees away from him. It didn’t matter how hard the skekling looked. He could not see it, but he knew it was there somewhere. He had squeaked and hissed, demanding it not get near skekRen. Whether it understood or not, it had abided by the demand. It stayed in that tree, not drawing near to the blind skekling far below.

As skekLar climbed, he thought. Was this the beast that brought skekRen and urRan that day almost an unum ago? Or was it another beast? Mother had described a huge black monster in armor with claws, but he couldn’t imagine such a creature climbing a tree.

Would the beast bring him more siblings? It had brought him and his twin. Then it brought skekRen and his twin. Were they all it would bring?

A small piece of skekLar hoped so, yet not. He liked skekRen now that the other was a bit older and didn’t cry as much. He wouldn’t mind a few more baby siblings. Yet the idea scared him too. What if Mother liked the new babies so much that she forgot about him?

He shook off the thought, creeping along a branch. It bent downward from the weight of the big orange fruit. It was really big. skekLar wondered if he could even pick it up. It was almost as big as him.

Yet he was determined to do it. He wouldn’t back down now, not with skekRen waiting!

.o.o.o.o.

“Where are they?” Miko muttered.

It had been almost three hours since she discovered the pair missing. urMy and urRan watched her pace, neutral on the subject of their skekling twins being absent. urMy even yawned, ready for a pre-dinner nap.

Miko sighed, tugging her hair. “They’re fine. Surely something would’ve told you if they were not.”

It was easy to verbally rationalize it to herself. It was harder to mentally and emotionally convince herself that her words must be true. Even now, her blue eyes teared up and her heart clenched. Anxiety and fear swirled in her stomach, promising to overwhelm her.

“I’ll just…go look for them. Maybe they wandered into the wood,” she decided.

She bent, picking up urMy and urRan. Even at two unum old, the pair was still rather small. Easy to pick up. She dreaded when they would become too heavy for her to move. She carried the urlings into the hut, setting them in the nest on the bed. urMy was content to curl up for his nap. urRan watched in her direction, milky eyes staring blindly.

Miko had a feeling that he was anxious too. She didn’t blame him. She reached out to stroke his head, a soft hum escaping the childling.

“I’ll find them. Don’t you worry,” she promised.

Once urRan had settled into bed with his older sibling, Miko left the hut. Her wings itched to fly and she caved to it, launching herself into the air. She flew over the trees, the dying light of the Brother Suns making her wings gleam brilliantly.

“skekLar! skekRen!” she called, louder this time. “Where are you?”

.o.o.o.o.

skekLar’s talons grabbed at the giant fruit’s stem. He shook it, yelping when the whole branch shook. He gave a squeak of alarm when another of the fruits, one below him, broke from its branch to plummet to the ground.

skekRen shrieked when he heard the fruit hit the ground. It exploded, thick orange peel everywhere. Its gooey insides splattered across the ground and nearby trees. skekRen cowered, covered in the stuff.

He lifted his beak, squawking in alarm at his sibling. _“Screek screee!”_

_“Scrawk!”_ skekLar replied, trying to reassure him. It had been an accident. He wouldn’t drop another. He hoped.

He tugged on the fruit again. It wouldn’t budge. He growled, creeping closer until he was crouched over the branch where the fruit stemmed from. skekLar twisted his head, body nearly tipping upside-down, and sank his fangs into the stem. He bit furiously, gagging as wooden splinters filled his beak.

_“Scree?”_ skekRen’s voice floated up to him, curious at the shower of stuff that he heard falling.

skekLar’s mouth was too full of fruit stem to respond. He kept biting, trying to saw through it. It wasn’t working too well. His fangs kept getting stuck, leaving him to flail until they came free again. He was pretty sure he kept coming free with a few less teeth each time.

He’d never lost teeth before. Would they come back?

Mother’s voice suddenly echoed around them, louder. From somewhere above. skekLar lifted his head, listening. Mother was flying somewhere over them. He hissed, going back to work. He didn’t want Mother finding out before he could get this orange thing home!

He wanted to surprise her so bad.

The sharp crack of wood was the only warning that skekLar got. Then the branch snapped, taking fruit and skekling with it. skekLar shrieked as he fell. He was suddenly very aware of how far down the ground was.

Too far down. Way too far down.

.o.o.o.o.

_“SCRAWK!!”_

Miko jolted. She knew that sound! She turned, diving into the trees where she heard it. Unlike the urlings who were mostly silent, the skeklings were very noisy. skekLar most of all.

She passed a broken branch, a tree full of heavy orange fruit. She didn’t recognize them, but her eyes zeroed in on the flailing skekRen far below. Miko looked around frantically for skekLar, who had been the one to scream.

Had some beast grabbed him? Had he fallen and hurt himself? Was he…dead?

Miko lighted onto the leaf-strewn ground, where the remains of one of the fruits had splattered everywhere. She picked up skekRen, who thrashed and screamed. She yelped when his tiny claws carelessly scratched at her.

“Ren, it’s okay! It’s me!” she said gently, stroking his down.

_“Screek?”_ skekRen ceased flailing, staring up. Then he clung to her, wailing.

“Shhh, shhhh! It’s okay,” she said gently. “Where’s skekLar?”

_“Scraw!”_

Miko froze, head snapping up. It took her a moment to find him. skekLar was clinging to a branch, almost vertical. A vine had looped around his chest, sparing him from the drop. Another large orange fruit was with him, its stem caught in the vines. How odd that it was being held so securely like that…

Then she looked closer and saw the vines for what they really were.

A huge beast hunkered in the tree above her, red eyes staring at her from a white face that looked like bone. Like a skull. Two long arms were extended from its right side, sharp four-fingered hands having arrested skekLar and the fruit’s plummet. skekLar squirmed, whining. The hand around his waist was so tight that all of his fluff was crushed to reveal just how tiny he actually was. Infinitely small compared to the behemoth that had grabbed him.

Miko stared, afraid. What was that? What did it want? Why did it have skekLar? Was it going to kill him? Would it kill her?

The beast stared at her, unblinking. Then it moved, drawing the skekling and the heavy fruit close to its chest. Using the two arms on its left side, its two hind legs, and its powerful tail, the creature slunk down the trunk of the tree. Reaching the roots that erupted from its base, it perched there like an immense bird of prey, minus the wings.

skekLar gave a small cheeping sound as he was gently placed on the grass, the heavy fruit put beside him.

Then the beast shot back up the tree, fast as lightning. Heavy crashing and a shower of bark and branches told Miko that it had fled.

Miko dove upon skekLar, gathering him up. skekLar whined, pawing as he was hugged by Mother and brother. The large orange fruit was forgotten for a time as she kissed and scolded him for being this deep in the woods.

“Were you trying to get this for me?” she asked, indicating the fruit.

skekLar wriggled free of her arms and skekRen’s suffocating hugs, scurrying over to the large fruit. He tapped it with his claws, enjoying the light hollow noise it made. He chirped happily, trying to lift it.

“Let me help. Maybe you can gather the peel from the other one?” Miko suggested, setting skekRen down to lift the fruit. “Oh my Thra, this is heavy!”

Their dinner was more of a feast that night.


	4. Chapter 4

Every unum, something new seemed to happen. Miko had grown to expect it now. Another unum had passed since she had sighted the skull-faced creature in the forest. Despite her pleas, skekLar kept going back to that fruit tree, cheeping and squawking. skekRen rarely went with him.

They were getting bigger. urMy and urRan were getting heavier, packing on the pounds with every meal. Meanwhile their skekling twins seemed to get taller and swifter. It was getting difficult for the Stonewood Gelfling to carry them now.

The day when they got too big for her was getting closer, faster than she had originally thought.

Miko chopped more wood, the suns blazing high above. It was getting warmer, the Brother Suns’ heat cancelling out the chill of the sea. skekRen sat nearby, close to the cliff edge. The wind ruffled through his down, revealing a few feathers that were coming in.

They were bone-white along his body, with a few blood-red ones along his head, back, and tail. A few red ones were at his wrists and ankles too.

All four childlings were gaining more color.

urMy was rather sandy but the fur along his head, spine, and tail was turning deep orange. urRan was also sandy but his mane was becoming light cream, almost white. skekLar’s feathers were a vibrant blue with similar red accents to his skekling brother but the red shade was deeper, almost carmine. He even had a few carmine feathers under his eyes.

With a sharp chirp, skekLar abandoned his sunning spot to sit near skekRen. He peered down the cliff, beginning to chatter. urMy and urRan, curious, soon joined him.

Miko paused her chopping. “What?” she asked, wandering over.

skekLar pointed down to the beach and the smooth-topped rock formations along the cliff’s face. He squawked, pointing again and again.

“Do you want to go down to the beach?” Miko asked.

skekLar quickly bobbed his head.

“You know you’re getting too heavy for me to fly with,” Miko pointed out.

skekLar whined, pointing again to the beach. urMy made a small huff, tail twitching. skekRen and urRan looked more lost than anything.

Miko sighed. “Fine. We’ll go down to the beach. It might be cooler down there.” It was getting rather hot.

skekLar gave a cheery squawk that skekRen automatically copied. urMy looked satisfied. urRan still looked confused, grabbing at the grass in front of him, as if that would give him answers.

One by one, Miko flew her four childlings down to the sandy beach below.

skekLar was quick to splash into the water, only to come running back in terror when a small wave hit him. The urlings flopped onto the sand, still as usual, though urRan kept dragging his fingers through the grains curiously. skekRen had to be guided to the water and soothed, as his sibling’s screaming had made him too afraid to approach it alone.

“See? Safe water. Like at home. Just salty,” Miko explained. “Don’t drink it.”

skekRen sat on the wet sad, smacking his talons on the sand. He squeaked when the waves washed over his legs and tail, leaving him waist-deep in water briefly. But he didn’t run away this time.

skekLar, jealous, darted out to his hips in the water and squawked in challenge. When skekRen didn’t move to go further, the bluish skekling threw his arms up in victory…and was promptly knocked over by another wave.

Miko giggled from where she sat. skekLar clambered back to his sibling, sputtering and hissing foully. The urlings giggled too, content to roll along the sand and draw scribbles. skekRen seemed fine where he was, letting the water wash over his lower half as the tide grew.

When the Brother Suns dipped beneath the water line, Miko finally stood. Brushing sand from her dress, she did a final scan of the beach. She had managed to catch a few fish and even two sandcrabs. Those would make for a tasty dinner. The wind grew chilly again.

Night was coming. It was time to go home.

“Come on, little ones. Time to go back up,” Miko called.

The urlings slowly wandered to her. skekLar protested, splashing in the evening waves. He surrendered when skekRen, too cold to want to keep playing, abandoned the sea for his mother. With a whine and a hung head, skekLar followed his sibling.

Miko gathered the two urlings and flew them up first. She didn’t see anything amiss until she was coming back down. The smooth-topped rocks, they seemed to be wet. Maybe from sea spray. It was when she was carrying skekRen and skekLar up that she flew closer to look.

“That’s what? Like something wet had climbed these,” Miko muttered, dread creeping along her spine.

The wetness carried all the way to the top of the cliff. Miko gathered her childlings, dread increasing as she stepped closer to her hut.

There was water on the threshold. Whatever it was, it was in their home.

_We can run to the woods, shelter in the trees. Maybe the armored monster will come to get rid of it. What if it’s the skull-faced beast? We didn’t see anything on the beach. Maybe it was hidden by the cliff? When did it get here? We were only gone a few hours._

skekLar began to hiss as they stepped inside. She hugged all four childlings close to her. If she could just get her spear…

There was a heavy coat draped along the back of Miko’s chair, dripping seawater on the floor. There was a towel there to catch the drips, though it was nearly sopping wet itself. There was a fishy smell in the hut. It almost seemed darker. There was no fire lit yet. The wood was all outside.

Then something huge loomed forth, almost too big for the living space.

_Too big for the skull-faced monster,_ Miko decided immediately.

Then there was light, the creature having made a fire in the hearth, and she suddenly knew what she was up against.

skekLar hissed, fluffy down rising in a bid to make himself look bigger. skekRen puffed alongside him, though the blind skekling was unsure of why they were puffing up exactly. urMy and urRan clung to the edges of Miko’s dress, afraid.

Miko could barely breathe. She stood frozen, watching the hulking mass of feathers and frills and treasure move about their tiny hut. A Skeksis, a fully grown one...and one she only knew from stories.

skekSa the Mariner.

skekSa moved about, rearranging things. Picking up the blankets from the floor. If nobody knew any better, she might’ve passed for a very large maid. But everyone knew better, which only made her behavior more puzzling.

A Skeksis Lord of the Crystal had no need to clean messes, yet skekSa picked up around the little hut with the ease and speed of a creature a tenth of her size.

Miko swallowed, finally piping up. The words barely came out. “Why are you here?”

The Mariner paused. She turned, sharp red eyes landing on the tiny family. Roving over the two hissing skeklings, the trembling urlings, and the young scrap of a Gelfling standing over them, shaking like a leaf in a summer storm. It was rather cute. Adorable, even.

skekSa smiled, her beak too full of sharp teeth. “Oh, me? Why, I’m just here doing what the rest seem to be failing at—lending a helping claw. You’re just one Gelfling. You can’t possibly do everything alone. Why, even skekMal realized this.”

skekMal? Miko tried to place the name but could put no face to it. She’d never heard of a Skeksis Lord named skekMal before. She only knew a few by name, of course. It was certainly possible that such a Lord existed.

“I know it’s only four now, but more will be on their way. I’m just here to lend you a helping claw or four,” skekSa said, straightening out the bed. “And frankly, I’m rather curious to see what my dear teacher has made while I’ve been away.”

.o.o.o.o.

Miko quickly found that her role was taken from her. It was unnerving and rather anxiety-inducing.

skekSa insisted on cooking the fish and sandcrabs. “A Stonewood can’t cook Sifan cuisine very well. Let me show you how it’s done,” skekSa said.

skekSa insisted on bathing the skeklings. “We Skeksis have to wash our feathers carefully. We can’t have them falling out while these little ones are so young.”

skekSa insisted on staying the night. “You must not be getting much sleep with four children. Let me take the burden from you tonight.”

Miko had a horrible feeling that it wouldn’t just be tonight.

The food was rather good. Miko admitted to herself that she always managed to burn her fish and she had never cooked sandcrab before. She hadn’t regarded it as Sifan cuisine. It was hard to make any kind of cuisine this far from civilization, with no real spices on hand.

skekRen and skekLar immediately didn’t like being bathed by the Mariner. skekLar fought harder and screeched louder. skekRen wailed for the first time in a while. skekSa ignored their protests, scrubbing them clean and taking fine care to examine their budding feathers.

“So beautiful. Just wait until you get all of your plumage,” she purred softly, almost lovingly.

Miko bathed urMy and urRan. skekSa seemed to be actively avoiding the urlings, keeping a wide berth around them. It made the Gelfling nervous. Was this normal behavior for them? The skeklings didn’t have an issue with their urling siblings.

It made her wonder if skekSa, or any of the other Skeksis, also had an urRu sibling somewhere. It couldn’t just be these two, right?

She should’ve said no. Told skekSa that she didn’t need help, that she couldn’t stay the night. But the way the Skeksis Lord kept doting on the skeklings, kept pressing just how hard it was for Miko to take care of four by herself, with the looming threat of more in the future…

Miko caved. She didn’t stop skekSa. She wasn’t sure she even could’ve.

.o.o.o.o.

Miko was nervous, too nervous for sleep. She hadn’t thought about how this would properly work between them if it lasted longer than tonight. It was too late to complain or try to convince their guest to leave now, of course. That would have to wait until morning.

It didn’t mean the doubt and regret wasn’t still there, bubbling in her gut. It drove her mad at her own weak-willed submission to the Skeksis Lord.

The skeklings and urlings snuggled close to her in bed. skekLar was the only one also still awake, having positioned himself between her and their massive guest. The tiny skekling’s breathing was more a whisper-soft hiss, anxious and alert to every twitch of the intruder’s feathers.

skekSa lay with her back to them, immense frame heaving with every breath. Few of her many, many, many layers had been removed before the sea captain retired to bed. She took up over half the bed with her bulk, though she seemed to have tried to curl and make herself smaller.

_“_ _I’m rather curious to see what my dear teacher has made while I’ve been away.”_

Those words bounced around in the Gelfling woman’s head. Who was skekSa’s teacher? What did that mean, what he made here? Did that mean the skeklings and urlings? Or the monsters in the forest? She didn’t understand.

She couldn’t sleep. She could only lay there, wide awake, staring at the massive Skeksis that now shared her home.

Unaware to Miko, skekSa lay awake as well, her own mind spinning. This wasn’t a very smart move. skekMal was already being risky, slinking out here with the Garthim. If anyone caught her lingering here too...

But this was their future, possibly. They couldn’t leave it exclusively to a Gelfling. The urlings, sure, but their own? No, a Skeksis should be here. How else would they learn how to be Skeksis?

She refused to admit to her own selfishness—she just wanted to be near, to call them hers.


	5. Chapter 5

skekSa hadn’t intended to stick around long. She really couldn’t afford to. If the Garthim or the Crystal Bats saw her, the Emperor would be furious. The point of this little project was distance, last she heard.

But seeing skekRen and skekLar racing around the hut, squawking and causing mischief to a Gelfling that they were rapidly growing larger than…

The Mariner resigned herself to her fate. Not reluctantly. Rather gladly, if she was honest. This whole thing had made her giddy in a way she couldn’t describe.

She wondered if it was why skekMal stuck near too, darting along the treetops, spying from the forest.

The Gelfling was rather adorable too. The Mariner always had a soft spot for the tiny things. The Sifan were the most beautiful, in her opinion, but this little Stonewood was rather pretty too. The glasses made her look bookish, like the Scroll Keeper.

There was a fire there too, in those brown eyes of hers. skekSa was intrigued by it.

She liked this little setup, but the hut would need to be much bigger if it was going to accommodate herself and several skeklings. Honestly, what was the Emperor thinking?

.o.o.o.o.

“You want to expand the house? But how?” Miko asked. “We couldn’t cut down nearly enough trees for the wood. And how to put it all together? We don’t have the tools.”

“You don’t, dear. I do aboard my ship, which we will use,” skekSa explained, huge bulk seated awkwardly at the table. So much of this tiny hut was going to need resizing. “The wood is waterproof. The metal will help support it. Anything else can be used to entertain our young ones.”

Our. Perhaps she was pushing too hard for this, skekSa contemplated, but she desired so much to be part of these skeklings’ lives. The Gelfling was nervous but had yet to deny her. She likely couldn’t, wouldn’t.

“I’ll handle all of the construction,” skekSa offered. “As they grow, they’ll need a larger space. They can’t live in a home suited for Gelfling. They’ll break the ceiling one day, or the table, or the tub.”

Miko bit her lip, nodding. “Y… You’re right. I didn’t think of that.”

“Let me handle it,” skekSa pressed, gently grasping those tiny hands of Miko’s. “You care for the little ones. It shouldn’t take more than a few days to do.”

Miko stared at her, caution swimming behind those glasses. “Okay,” she finally said.

“Good girl.” skekSa smiled toothily and rose, getting to work.

.o.o.o.o.

skekSa swallowed down the pain of tearing apart the small Sifan ship she had sailed on for the past few unum. Nobody would miss it back in Cera Na and it was dying for a good cause, but dismantling a good vessel always hurt her soul. She did the hauling and carrying up the cliff side alone, piling her new materials away from the edge.

Miko kept the little ones away, which wasn’t hard. The urlings seemed keen to avoid the Mariner, thank Thra, and skekRen shared that mindset. It was only skekLar who tried to draw near, hissing and puffing his baby feathers at the Skeksis Lord.

skekSa didn’t care much for the urlings. They brought her other half to mind and there was a deep loathing between them. When she looked at urMy and urRan, all she saw was the Swimmer. She crushed the lid on that by firmly avoiding the pair.

She was silently grateful that the urlings seem to detect that they were unwanted by her. They stayed near Miko. That was fine. The Gelfling could have the urlings. skekSa was not looking forward to more arriving.

She was here for the skeklings, not their other halves.

skekSa drowned herself in the work during the daylight hours. Over the course of three days, she had expanded the exterior and heightened the ceiling to fit Skeksis needs. She was rather proud of herself. She might not be an architect but mentoring under skekTek had taught her a lot over the trine.

She had just moved to rebuilding the furniture when a guest made an unwanted arrival.

.o.o.o.o.

The brother suns had just been setting when skekSa heard the subtle crunch of water reeds underfoot. Her head tilted up toward the ceiling. Someone was on the roof, stepping around on the thatch she had set down this afternoon.

skekLar seemed to hear it too, hissing. His claws hooked into Miko’s sleeve, spooking the Gelfling.

Then the roof creaked and skekSa roared for them all to get back.

Miko shrieked when the roof gave way, a massive creature crashing through into their dining room. The table broke its fall, if only barely. Even then, there was still a massive mess of thatch and broken wood across the floor.

skekSa hissed, feathers rising. The Mariner had put herself between the intruder and her wards. Her smaller claws sought out her sword, almost ripping it from her belt.

Then the dust cleared and she settled down, feathers smoothing.

Laying on the crushed remains of the table, head lolling in a daze, masked and cloaked and covered in debris…was the Hunter. skekMal seemed out of it from the drop. The Mariner almost thought perhaps he’d drunk something if not for the subtle tang of blood in the air.

The sea captain stepped forward even as the Stonewood babbled about a monster. Figures. That was the point. skekMal didn’t want to be recognized as a Skeksis. Being a shapeless monster made his job easier. It seems that even worked here, whether he had intended it or not.

skekSa spotted the blood oozing between the bony armor along his side, just beneath his secondary arm. A stab, by a blade perhaps. Someone or something had dared get that close. That or skekMal picked a fight with skekUng. That was always a possibility.

“What are you doing here?” she asked idly, tail flicking.

skekMal coughed, clearing his lungs. Sharp green eyes opened, zeroing in on her bulk immediately. He slowly sat up, trying to cover up his moment of weakness. He seemed to hunch, other secondary arm looped around a bundle.

“What about you?” he rasped.

“I asked first,” skekSa scolded, going so far as to wag a finger. As if he was a naughty child.

skekMal growled. “Delivery.”

“The Garthim do that. Try again.”

“Delivery,” skekMal repeated, staggering to his feet.

“I sai—”

skekSa fell silent as skekMal threw open his heavy cloak and pulled away the blanket covering his bundle. Loud squeaking erupted. Three tiny beaked faces bobbed in the basket.

skekSa said nothing as the Hunter lurched forward, roughly pushing her aside. Miko yelped as the basket of skeklings was thrust into her arms. Then he threw open the door and marched outside…dropping face first onto the grass with a sudden thud.

“Wh… What?” Miko choked, lost.

“I’ll drag him in,” skekSa said, leaving the hut to retrieve her growling companion.

skekMal didn’t move from where he’d fallen on the grass. He huffed and growled but didn’t seem able to get up again. Fear sparked in the Mariner. Had the stab hit something vital in him? Her mind raced through vital organs in that region while her hands seized him, hauling him up and over one shoulder as if he were a bag of tubers. The Hunter snarled but did not fight her.

“What were you doing? Why do you have them?” she hissed as she rounded back to the hut.

skekMal didn’t reply.

“Who hurt you, skekMal? Why?”

Still nothing. She marched through the door, no longer having to duck since she’d resized it, and headed for the bed.

“Answer me, Hunter!”

Miko and the young ones scurried away, hugging the kitchen counter. The sandcrab was still bubbling in its pot and the treekin was beginning to burn. Miko silently tended to their overcooking dinner.

skekSa bared her fangs. She was through being nice. She roughly dumped skekMal on the bed and drew her blade, aiming the tip at his throat. She could hear the youths squeaking and babbling behind her but the Mariner ignored them. Her red eyes glared at her friend, demanding answers.

skekMal slowly breathed, green eyes refusing to break gazes. He was a tough thing. He wouldn’t break so easily to her, to anyone. That was his job. He was the unbreakable wall. He did the destroying.

“Why?” she hissed again.

Finally skekMal’s eyes fell shut. He heaved a heavy sigh before they opened again.

“Things changed,” he replied simply. “The Garthim won’t be here for a while.”

skekSa blinked, lost. “Why?”

“Because they know,” skekMal said. “Took them a few unum but they figured it out. Not much but it was enough.”

The subtle wording was lost on Miko, but skekSa understood it clearly enough. It sent an icy chill through her bones.

“Emperor ordered it to end, but we protested. Scientist took this underground. Gave me them and ordered me to come. So I did. Ran into them on the way.”

skekSa could see it now. The Emperor roaring for a halt to the whole project, to focus defense on themselves. The Gelfling of Stonewood, realizing their missing sister was alive, beginning to fight back. The Hunter taking the brunt of their rage on his way through, attempting to put a plug in this mess before it could spiral into full blown chaos.

“It’ll be over soon,” skekMal rasped, eyes falling shut again. “It’ll be swept away. Things will go back.”

skekSa would’ve bitten her lip if she had one. Her talons fumbled, her sword withdrawing as the rage dissolved beneath fear.

“Won’t find us,” he muttered, voice growing softer. “Just need to wait…and rest…and it’ll all be…”

skekMal fell asleep before he could finish. skekSa swayed where she stood before she turned, taking a heavy seat on the bed. Her mind spun with anxiety.

Yes, it would all be fine. Any resistance would be stomped out long before they could trace Miko here. They would be fine. The project would continue. Their future would be secured. It had to be.

The Mariner didn’t remember much else that night.


End file.
